Patty Chang Anker wanted to face the fears that had made her life safe and monotonous, so she started a blog called 'Facing Forty Upside Down' to take on the challenges one by one.

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Patty Chang Anker started her blog Facing Forty Upside Down because she knew it was time for a major change. "My comfort zone was less a zone and more a skittish zigzag from car to coffee shop to supermarket to office to sofa to fridge to bed, where I lay awake, worrying." Anker knew she needed to break out of her safe, secure patterns not just for herself, but also to show her two daughters what it meant to take risks. In Some Nerve: Lessons Learned While Becoming Brave, Anker shares hilarious stories about her pursuit to confront some of her biggest fears head-on. We spoke to her about finally leaving her comfort zone—and encouraging other people to do the same.

"I grew up Chinese-American, and losing face is a really big deal. In the U.S., people reinvent themselves constantly—they have huge scandals, then run for office and win. Not only does my cultural heritage value protecting your family's honor, I worked in public relations, which is all about managing people's images and what they stand for. If you care that much about what other people think of you, it's going to inhibit what you do. Also, the fear of failure is huge. We don't want to let ourselves or anyone else down."

Since you were trying things you feared, there was a chance that you'd fail. How did you overcome that fear?

"When I tried to face my fear of the ocean, I went in and broke my foot. It had repercussions for me and the rest of my family. That to me felt like a failure, and I felt guilty about it because other people had to bear the consequences of my actions. I realized, though, that we learn more about our humanity from the things that don't go the way we wanted them to than the things that do. The lesson to be learned from a past failure is not that you're going to fail at everything. Your history says nothing about your potential from here on."

And ultimately, you're the one in charge of your story.

"When you write a blog or a book, you're putting things on the record and setting up what you choose to remember and what you want your kids to know about your time here. Even if you're not actually writing it down, think of yourself as your own memoirist. You want your story to be full of growth and excitement."

Which challenge are you most proud of?

"When I went surfing on Lake Michigan in the winter, I was able to push through the discomfort of 36-degree water pouring into my wetsuit and focus on the task at hand. It was a combination of surrendering to the elements and pure strength and control. My mind became very clear, and I just listened to the instruction, 'Push up, push up!' It crowded out any fear, and I was focused on doing something real. It was a huge mental and emotional freedom to find that life can really be unexpected, and I could enjoy things that were uncomfortable, scary, or painful."

Were you surprised by popularity of your blog?

"I think of myself as this person alone and afraid in a dark house when everyone else is asleep, but there are so many other people who feel the same way. You start a blog and wonder what people are going to think of you, but you end up connecting with their stories. If you open yourself up, the energy is just going to gather."

"I always ask people, 'When you tell the story of your life, do you want people to know that you did it, or you didn't?' You think you want to sit on your couch and watch other people have peak experiences, but it's so much better to have your own. The challenge encourages you to identify something that makes your palms sweat, make a plan for addressing it, tell a friend who will hold you accountable, follow through, and then show off your triumph by sending in your picture and story. I share them on the blog."

What's been the most surprising story so far?

"Erin, who wrote about Zumba. You think it's going to be about embarrassment and dancing in front of strangers, but it's about a painful time in her life. A lot of hard things happened that she had no control over, and she faced them by doing Zumba, which forced her to focus on a different challenge—learning the dance—for awhile."

Any tips for readers inspired take the challenge and face their own fears?

"Just breathe. Fear wants to shut you down, and the most life-affirming thing you can do is give yourself oxygen. I also like to copy my daughters and say 'weeeee'—it makes everything less scary!"